Data Caps (AT&T, Comcast, etc)

[JakeMR2]

This is my first opinion type thread on here. out of curiosity do you guys hate these caps? It basically prevented me from enjoying my PS4, and other stuff like uploading videos to YouTube and watching my favorite subscriptions, but now I have to limit everything by around 50% or less because of them.

The data cap I am running is 150 GB's Data Cap at 5 to 6 MB/s speed, yup. I am running a DSL connection. Sad enough because my area can't get a cable upgrade at all.

I don't know where to put the thread, I was thinking the Computer and Tech side, but it can affect a lot of people with these type of plans.

 

[Parker]

Why would anyone like data caps?

 

[Northstar]

I could understand companies needing data caps when using old school phone lines as you can only ask so much of insanely old infrastructure. However with cable and fiber-optic internet I think data caps are outrageous as the infrastructure for those forms of providing internet is considerably newer and should be able to easily handle a larger load.

What aggravates me the most is companies that have caps but don't give you a way to track usage.

 

[TRGTspecialist]

At least you have a connection fast enough to reasonably hit 150gb in a month........that's almost a luxury here

 

[JakeMR2]

At least you have a connection fast enough to reasonably hit 150gb in a month........that's almost a luxury here

It's a lot easy to hit the caps, it's really hard to really manage your data since it's infinite. I have been reading through articles and watching YouTube videos about the overage fees, and it's not pretty.

 

[Ameer67]

Data caps are mostly artificial in this day and age, meaning there is little physical need to limit the amount of bandwidth the typical customer uses it. It's pretty obvious why they do it though. $$$

Thankfully, Concast provides a data usage graph on their site and according to the graph, our household only uses half of the 1TB limit per month. So, we're safe for now. (But that obviously isn't a real solution to the issue.)

Also, this thread should definitely be in the computers and technology section.

 

[JakeMR2]

Data caps are purely artificial in this day and age, meaning there is no physical need to limit the amount of bandwidth a customer uses it. It's pretty obvious why they do it though. $$$

Thankfully, Concast provides a data usage graph on their site and according to the graph, our household only uses half of the 1TB limit per month. So, we're safe for now. (But that obviously isn't a real solution to the issue.)

Also, this thread should definitely be in the computers and technology section.

I can't move it, but I did get that it is a part of the "Net Neutrality" thing, so it can go political when it comes to regulating these companies from overcharging their own customers.

 

[Ameer67]

I can't move it, but I did get that it is a part of the "Net Neutrality" thing, so it can go political when it comes to regulating these companies from overcharging their own customers.

True true. Report your post so the mods can see what to do with it.

 

[CodeRedR51]

I am forced to use Centurylink (DSL) for internet because my apartments have an exclusivity contract with them. I pay nearly $80 USD a month for 20mbps download and less than 1mbps upload. As far as I am aware, I don't have a data cap, but I do not have cable TV so I spend a lot of time on YouTube and Netflix and there are times when neither one of them will load anything in HD quality. Most of the time a hard reset on the modem (unplug, wait, plug in) will help.

My modem is actually 5-6 years old and in their last attempt to send me a new one I may have caught them throttling my connection. After some research online, I found out that their new modems allow them to do that so I sent it back and kept the old one.

 

[Imari]

Data caps are purely artificial in this day and age, meaning there is no physical need to limit the amount of bandwidth a customer uses it. It's pretty obvious why they do it though. $$$

Any ISP is going to have upper limits on the amount of data that they can thoughput per second. It may be very high, but it's there. Technically, data caps are there to try and make sure people don't just leave their PCs torrenting at full speed all the time as on smaller networks it can quickly make the experience unpleasant for everyone.

Maybe it's not a problem in the states, but it's something that has come and gone in AU for a while. Unlimited ADSL was popular for a long time, but as cable became more common data caps came back as it was possible to saturate the network in the evenings. Lately the networks seem to have expanded and unlimited cable has returned. Whether this cycle continues or not, who knows? Possibly not.

 

[TenEightyOne]

What aggravates me the most is companies that have caps but don't give you a way to track usage.

Surely you can do that through your router or most Windows/Ubuntu/Android devices? No idea about Macs, but I guess they're the same.

 

[ryzno]

I have Comcast at 50GB cap. What I lack in data is made up for with speed. 70+down 25+up.

And I have only hit my cap once it was a $30 fee..

 

[Northstar]

Surely you can do that through your router or most Windows/Ubuntu/Android devices? No idea about Macs, but I guess they're the same.

The only problem with using those methods is that if there is a discrepancy the provider's number will be the one used.

 

[xyloscissor]

I don't use data on my phone and my house is unlimited so it would not affect me except for the fact that my kids are on my phone plan. It's annoying to me when verizon sends me silly texts letting me know the kids are at the limit, they can't go over and I don't buy extra for them.

Whatever, it seems a scam to me tbh.

 

[Ameer67]

Any ISP is going to have upper limits on the amount of data that they can thoughput per second. It may be very high, but it's there.

Oh yes, for sure there will be a limit on how much the infrastructure can handle. (I've edited my post in that regard.)

Technically, data caps are there to try and make sure people don't just leave their PCs torrenting at full speed all the time as on smaller networks it can quickly make the experience unpleasant for everyone.

It's a real problem, I agree, but what I don't understand is why don't the companies just throttle those users instead of implementing a data cap for everyone? Comcast says that their caps aren't implemented for congestion reasons here in the US.

 

[Lain]

Wow, no love at all for data caps in the poll?

 

[Ameer67]

Wow, no love at all for data caps in the poll?

Surprising, right?

 

[Imari]

It's a real problem, I agree, but what I don't understand is why don't the companies just throttle those users instead of implementing a data cap for everyone? Comcast says that their caps aren't implemented for congestion reasons here in the US.

Meh, seems like it's still about congestion, whatever they say publically. They want to charge users more for heavy use. Therefore, they're trying to provide a financial disincentive for heavy use. If they have the bandwidth to spare, then they're simply selling a worse product than they could be. Technically they could be planning ahead because it's hard to put someone on unlimited and then take them off it, but more likely that would just be stupid.

I don't particularly trust what companies say. On the other hand, their actions will usually be "honest".

And yeah, in Australia even if you're on unlimited you can get throttled for using torrents and the like. It's less common now, but I still get chucked into another pool when I switch BT on. The internet cuts out for 30 seconds while they change me over and then carries on. It's very not subtle.

 

[Valkyr1313]

Gonna have to say a strong no to data caps because just on my phone I will use over 50gb if WiFi and 10gb of data a month. I can't imagine how much I WiFi I use on my laptop and consoles per month

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

What's a home phone?

 

[Northstar]

What's a home phone?

It's believed to be a form of communication used by our ancestors. Scientists are stumped as to how it operated though considering there are only 12 buttons, no camera and no screen (some artifacts have been found suggesting some had small screens, but surely not big enough for Snapchat).

 

[ryzno]

What's a home phone?

That wierd thing on the wall, with a long tangled cord and buttons in your grandmas kitchen.

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

It's believed to be a form of communication used by our ancestors. Scientists are stumped as to how it operated though considering there are only 12 buttons, no camera and no screen.

Sounds archaic, the only thing that'd make that image worse is if a long cumbersome cord was hooked to it and an adjacent wall where it'd rest.

That wierd thing on the wall, with a long tangled cord and buttons in your grandmas kitchen.

What grandma? Didn't the world just exist from 2010 onward?

 

[Lain]

That wierd thing on the wall, with a long tangled cord and buttons in your grandmas kitchen.

Buttons? Puhlease, ain't nobody's grandma gonna fuss with no phone buttons.

My grandma may be torrent-savvy, but you better believe her kitchen phone's a rotary.

 

[ryzno]

Buttons? Puhlease, ain't nobody's grandma gonna fuss with no phone buttons.

My grandma may be torrent-savvy, but you better believe her kitchen phone's a rotary.

Rotaries still work?!

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

Rotaries still work?!

Yeah, and she says every time she rings up the operator "data cap this son!"

I personally think she watches too much youtube

 

[Joey D]

Data caps are the worst, especially when regulations essentially allow a company to have a monopoly in a given area. Case in point, I live in Holladay, a suburb of Salt Lake City which is one of the few cities that have Google Fiber. However, for whatever reason they aren't allowed to run fiber to Holladay which means the only Internet provider I can use is Comcast, which has a 1 TB data cap. Seeing as I don't have cable and use Playstation Vue, I regularly go over my data cap every month and pay $10 per 100GB extra that I use. When I questioned Comcast about this they said I could either buy the $300 a month plan with no data caps or I could do, and I quote what the salesman said "just be like a normal person and use cable instead of using the terrible Internet TV". Considering there's like 4 channels I actually want to watch and 3 of them are available through Vue I see no reason to pay $100 more a month to get cable tv when I'm already paying $75 for Internet.

Remove regulations, let competitors into areas and data caps will sort themselves out. In fact I'd pay more for lower speeds from another company just so I wouldn't have to deal with Comcast.

 

[JakeMR2]

salesman said "just be like a normal person and use cable instead of using the terrible Internet TV"

That sounds very not customer oriented at all, I only have AT&T to choose in my area, and not to mention I only knew of the data caps during June of 2016, thus. When I got my PS4 I nearly hit 200 GB of data within that month alone.

 

[Joey D]

That sounds very not customer oriented at all, I only have AT&T to choose in my area, and not to mention I only knew of the data caps during June of 2016, thus. When I got my PS4 I nearly hit 200 GB of data within that month alone.

It's Comcast, the company the continually wins awards for having the worst customer service in America.

 

[Imari]

Buttons? Puhlease, ain't nobody's grandma gonna fuss with no phone buttons.

My grandma may be torrent-savvy, but you better believe her kitchen phone's a rotary.

Rotaries are where it's at. They may be fuel hungry, but that noise. Brrrr. Brrrr. Brrrr.

Also, oh for the days when pranking your parents with *69 was a thing.